The 2019 NCAA Division III Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship was down to the wire, with Emory beating Kenyon by just nine points. Kenyon and Emory each built their team performances on their depth, as they each had just one of the top ten scorers in the meet. Third and fourth place finishers Denison and Williams each had a duo of the top ten female scorers.
The 200 IM was a crowded event as six of the meet’s 10 highest scorers were in that Championship final.
Only two of the top ten are graduating, meaning making an impact at the ever-improving championships won’t be getting any easier.
Here’s a look at the ten women who tallied the most individual points at the 2019 Championships.
2018-2019 Season Preview: Women’s Top 10 Returning Scorers
Psych Sheet Preview: Women’s Top 10 Projected Scorers
1. Fiona Muir: Senior, Emory- 60
50 Free- 1st (22.75), 100 Free- 1st (49.37), 200 Free- 1st (1:47.70)
Fiona Muir went out on top. The Emory senior defended her 50 and 100 freestyle titles, and with her former teammate and 200 freestyle champion Cindy Cheng graduated, Muir stepped up and won that event as well. In a women’s team race where every point mattered, Muir was what the Eagles needed to secure their tenth straight National Championship.
1. Honore Collins: Junior, NYU- 60
200 IM- 1st (1:58.18), 400 IM- 1st (4:15.17), 200 Fly- 1st (2:00.40)
The Swimmer of the Year, Honore Collins made a big leap from her performances in 2018. After winning the 200 IM as a freshman (2:00.97), Collins finished third (2:01.86) as a sophomore. This year, she was back on top, going head to head with the defending champion and NCAA record holder (Crile Hart), and taking down the mark.
Collins put together a monumental performance to win her second event, the 400 IM. Last year she entered the meet with a 4:34.85 in the event, before blowing that time away in prelims with a 4:26.03. At night she was a touch faster, taking 12th in 4:25.36. This year, Collins destroyed that time. She flew home in 57.01 to track down Williams’ Molly Craig and take her second National Title of the week in 4:15.17.
Collins traded the 100 breaststroke (18th in 2018) for the 200 fly and it proved to be a great move. While she appeared to struggle through the final 35 yards on Friday morning, Collins came back at night as the sixth seed. She was out faster at night, and had the final 100 necessary to go three for three in National Titles.
3. KT Kustritz: Junior, Denison- 57
100 Breast- 1st (1:00.67), 200 Breast- 1st (2:12.33), 200 IM- 2nd (2:00.07)
Photo Courtesy: Linda Striggo
KT Kustritz was shy of her NCAA record (100 breast-59.77) and Championship record (200 breast-2:12.27), but had just enough to hold on to defend her breaststroke titles. Things won’t get easier in her senior year as Kustritz’ biggest challenger (Jordyn Wentzel, sophomore, second in both) isn’t going anywhere yet.
In the 200 IM Kustritz did improve from last year, dropping a half second, but still touching second.
3. Laura Westphal: Sophomore, Williams -57
500 Free-1st (4:48.15), 200 Free- 2nd (1:47.74), 1650 Free- 1st (16:35.50)
Last year’s 800 freestyle relay split (1:47.16) suggested Laura Westphal had room to move in the 200 free (after touching in 1:49.35 individually) and boy did she. Westphal knocked out a 1:47.74 to finish second, up from her sixth place finish in her NCAA debut.
Her 500 and 1650 performances were very similar to 2018. Westphal was strong across the backhalf of her races, chasing down Becca Erwin to squeak out a 500 freestyle victory, and moving up on the mile field, before running away from the group.
5. Crile Hart: Sophomore, Kenyon- 56
200 IM- 3rd (2:00.53), 100 Back- 1st (53.81), 200 Back- 1st (1:56.62)
In her freshman year Crile Hart put together a performance that was going to be tough to match. In 2018 she was Swimmer of the Year, taking three victories, two of them in NCAA record time. This time, Hart was shy of her bests, but had enough to defend her backstroke titles. She fell a bit further from her own best in the 200 IM, and wound up third.
Hart still has two more years to look to replicate her 2018 performances, and is versatile enough that she could even consider altering her event lineup.
6. Maddie Hopkins: Sophomore, Denison- 51
50 Free-2nd (22.98), 100 Free- 2nd (49.97), 100 Fly- 2nd (54.75)
Photo Courtesy: Linda Striggo
Maddie Hopkins had the kind of breakout season coaches dream of during recruiting. In her freshman year Hopkins posted two lifetime bests at NCAAs: She was 28th in the 100 free in a best time 51.72 and eighth in the 100 fly in 55.54 (after a best of 55.34 in prelims). She was also 20th in the 50 free, only .06 off her best of 23.62 swum at Conference. Her lifetime bests out of high school were 24.55 in the 50 free, 53.43 in the 100 free, and 56.59 in the 100 fly.
As a sophomore, Hopkins left Greensboro with three silver medals and a key role on the Big Red relays. In just two years in Granville she’s knocked a combined seven seconds off her three best events (which only total 250 yards).
7. Jordyn Wentzel: Freshman, St. Kate’s- 49
100 Breast- 2nd (1:00.72), 200 Breast- 2nd (2:12.59), 200 IM- 4th (2:01.00)
Jordyn Wentzel entered her first National Championships as the number one freshman to watch. She was the only rookie on the list of top ten scorers on the psych sheet, and Wentzel delivered.
Wentzel came within hundredths of upsetting Kustrtiz for the breaststroke titles, and set another lifetime best for fourth in the 200 IM. There’s plenty of potential left for this Wildcat in the next three years.
7. Becca Erwin: Junior, Birmingham Southern- 49
500 Free- 2nd (4:48.25), 200 Free- 3rd (1:48.85), 100 Free- 3rd (50.50)
Last year Becca Erwin‘s highest finish was fourth in the 200 free in 1:48.74. She was also sixth in the 100 free in 50.68. In the 100 breast she touched 20th in 1:04.65, well off her 1:02.27 entry.
This year Erwin gave up the 100 breast in favor of the 500 free, and then nearly won the event. Swimming in lane one, Erwin led Laura Westphal the whole way through the 450, before getting out touched by a tenth.
Despite being a tenth slower, Erwin moved up a spot this year in the 200 free and dropped two tenths to move up in the 100 free as well.
9. Molly Craig: Sophomore, Williams- 47
400 IM- 2nd (4:15.46), 200 Fly- 3rd (2:02.01), 200 IM- 5th (2:01.42)
Molly Craig swam the same event line up as she did in her NCAA debut, and scored just one point less than last year. Craig couldn’t quite hold off Collins’ monster anchor leg of the 400 IM and fell to second in her best event.
Craig did swim over a half second faster than in last year’s 200 IM. In a stacked field, that improvement still dropped her a place to fifth. The 200 fly was Craig’s brightest swim of the week. She was nearly a second faster than in 2018, and moved up to third. If Craig and Collins continue to swim the same event line up in 2020, there will be no shortage of competition for this Eph.
10. Sterling Dixon: Senior, Bowdoin – 44
200 Fly- 2nd (2:01.23), 200 Free- 4th (1:49.77), 200 IM-7th (2:03.78)
Photo Courtesy:
At the 2018 NCAA Championships Sterling Dixon scored just one point, touching 16th in the 400 IM. This year the senior went out on top, earning three individual All-American honors (her one All-American honor was a seventh place finish in the 400 IM in 2017). The event change clearly worked out for the Polar Bear, as she moved up significantly, and went lifetime bests in all three of her races.
- 2018 NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIPS
- 2017 NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIPS
- 2016 NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIPS
- 2019 WOMEN'S PSYCH SHEET
- 2019 MEN'S PSYCH SHEET
- 2019 WOMEN'S INVITED SWIMMERS BY TEAM
- 2019 MEN'S INVITED SWIMMERS BY TEAM
- 2019 WOMEN'S ALTERNATES
- 2019 MEN'S ALTERNATES
- 2019 DIVING QUALIFIERS
- 2019 WOMEN'S RESULTS
- 2019 MEN'S RESULTS